East Molesey 4s 110-6 (20 overs) Lucas Green 45, Harmeet Singh 3-21
Twickenham 4s 111-5 (16.1 overs) Jon Bosier 24no, Praween Siriwardena 21

A re-styled Twickenham 4s got their 2020 campaign off to a winning start against East Molesey on 12 July. In front of a hundreds of onlooking sunworshippers, the 4s took a rare opportunity to play on Twickenham Green with both hands. Jon Bosier (24no) and Praween Siriwardena (21) led the way with the bat, whilst skipper Harmeet Singh (3-21) grasped the nettle with the ball.

With Hinay Dassani still in pre-season mode, 5th XI captain Harmeet Singh stepped up to the plate to take charge of his first ever game for the Ts. And, he did an excellent job, marshalling an eclectic mix of 4th teamers, 5th teams and at least one aging dinosaur to good effect.

Skipper leads from the front
East Molesey took first hit and it wasn’t long before they were in a spot of bother. Both Anil Bhatt and the Harminator struck early, leaving the visitors three down in quick fashion. Two bowleds and a full length diving catch (yes, you read that right) from Jon Bosier did the job. Lucas Green at three, however, offered some resilience, clobbering effectively to leg and running smartly between the wickets. Indeed, his 45 proved to be the backbone of what ultimately became a decent fight back.

Paul McLoughlin soon replaced Bhatt from the Staines Road End, and despite seeing Dan Hough drop an absolute dolly at mid off he wasted little time in getting in on the wicket-taking party. It was nonetheless Uzzi Khan who provided the champagne moment of the day, racing in from point to knock over one stump and run out Owen Eckes. A piece of fielding that would have graced any cricketing stage.

By Dan Hough
Photo; @jedleicesterphoto

A bit of lower order resilience offered Green the chance to get the visiting score north of 100, although the number three was unfortunate not to register the half century his efforts deserved. Some impressive work by one of the Molesey colts in the last few overs also shouldn’t go unmentioned.

Bosier biffs the Ts home
In reply the Ts turned to two 4th XI stalwarts to get things up and running; Uzzi Khan and Praween Siriwardene. Both looked perfectly at home, illustrating that you don’t need to hit the ball miles to make progress in 2020 cricket. Khan drove elegantly through the covers, Siriwardene hit hard and straight; 50 came up in decent time.

Just as it looked like the Ts might be cruising to a very big victory, Siriwardene was trapped leg before and Khan was called in by his skipper so that the middle order to get a bit of a hit. That led to a bit of a wobble. Hiran Dissanayake became the second leg before of the innings, whilst Alex Waddell looked like a man who hadn’t held a bat for the best part of a year. Waddell nonetheless managed a couple of boundaries, before finding himself returning to the shack.

Jon Trippett, batting at five, started by playing a text book cover drive only to then spoon up a chance that point snaffled nicely. That left Jon Bosier (smash anything that moved) and Dan Hough (don’t play at anything unless it is dead straight) to see the Twickenham ship home with plenty of time to spare.

The 2020 season has been a long time coming. That made this game all the more enjoyable to play in. Hundreds were (vaguely) watching on the Green as the sun shone and the world felt and looked like it was begin to right itself again. Magnificent stuff.